Pablo Garcés - Pragmatic behaviour: pragmatism as a philosophy for behavioural economics

jpe:8741 - Journal of Philosophical Economics, April 1, 2022, Volume XV - https://doi.org/10.46298/jpe.8741
Pragmatic behaviour: pragmatism as a philosophy for behavioural economicsArticle

Authors: Pablo Garcés ORCID1

  • 1 Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador

Behavioral economics offers an account of actual human behavior. Contrasting with the conventional normative approach to rationality, rational choice theory, describes the deviations from optimal decision making. These are attributed to failures in two systems, one in charge of automatic behavior (System 1) and the other responsible for reflective one (System 2). As important as this is, an elaboration of the interaction between them seems to be lacking. Philosophical pragmatism can contribute to address this want. It provides an evolutionary explanation of how people act accounting for the continuity of behavior including habitual and reflective action. The former is captured by habits and the latter directed towards objects. Additionally, it proposes a dialogical self, consisting of an interaction between the 'I', denoting impulse, and the 'me', referring to reflective action. As such, pragmatism can provide fertile ground on which to cultivate behavioral insights.


Volume: Volume XV
Section: Articles
Published on: April 1, 2022
Accepted on: January 26, 2022
Submitted on: November 23, 2021
Keywords: behavioral economics,pragmatism,rationality,agency,transaction,[SHS.PHIL]Humanities and Social Sciences/Philosophy,[SHS.ECO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance

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